White Earth tribal member charged with felony cannabis possession after raid on tobacco shop

A White Earth tribal member whose Mahnomen business was raided last August has been charged with a felony for illegal cannabis possession.

Mahnomen resident Todd J. Thompson, 54, started selling cannabis from his northwestern Minnesota store, Asema Tobacco & Pipe Shop, on the day recreational cannabis became legal in Minnesota. But his store was licensed by the White Earth Reservation tribal council to sell only tobacco products.

According to court documents, agents with the Paul Bunyan Drug Task Force and other law enforcement executed a search warrant at the shop and Thompson’s residence just after 4 p.m. Aug. 2. At the store, they found multiple Mason jars with green leafy substances, digital scales and plastic bags.

Officials seized about 7.5 pounds of marijuana and just under 1 pound of marijuana wax, as well as about $2,750 in cash from the store.

Minnesota became the 23rd state to legalize cannabis use for people 21 and older last year. Under the new law people could start legally possessing up to 2 pounds of cannabis flower in their private residence or up to two ounces in public. But the sale of recreational cannabis remains restricted on non-native land as the state works to open the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management and start a licensing system.

The state’s first recreational cannabis dispensary opened Aug. 1 at Red Lake Nation’s NativeCare, about an hour and a half from Mahnomen. The second dispensary to open was Waabigwan Mashkiki, which is owned and operated by White Earth Nation.

“Our teams have been working diligently to prepare for this launch, and we’re excited to provide a safe and controlled environment for cannabis access,” the White Earth Reservation Business Committee said in a statement last August. “This endeavor aligns with our tribal sovereignty and self-determination.”

Thompson’s store is about a half-mile from the Waabigwan Mashkiki dispensary. After the raid, the White Earth Reservation Business Committee said it would “seize and destroy any illegal cannabis within the reservation’s boundaries.”

“While adult-use cannabis has been decriminalized, it is still an area that is heavily regulated by both the State and the Band,” the Business Committee wrote in a Facebook post last August. “No person or entity can produce or sell cannabis within the White Earth Reservation without a license issued by the White Earth Medicinal Cannabis Control Commission.”

Thompson was charged in April with one felony count of first-degree cannabis possession, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison or $10,000 fine, or both. His first court appearance is slated for Monday.

Reached by phone Tuesday, Thompson said he plans to fight the charge.